Trammel-gage for vehicle-wheels.



C. C. DEDREUX.

TRAMMEL GAGE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS.

APPucATloN msn ocT.21. 1914.

1,138,736. l Patented 1111157111915.

mailman-'GAGE Foa VEHICLE-WHEELS.

Cleveland, in the county -of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have vinvented acertain new and useful Improvement in Trammel-Gages for Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings. l

This invention comprehends a gage or instrument whereby the wheels of vehicles may be trued up and brought into alinement. In-the' case of a Vehicle having solid axles .like the usual horse drawn carriage, or even the rear axle of an automobile, the lack of axial alinement of the wheels is generally predicated upon some outside cause of such magnitude as to render its. existence immediately apparent and its cure 'a matter of absolute necessity. Thus in the case of the rear wheels of-an automobile which are usually journaled upon theend's of a rigid axle, a lack of. alinement would be instantly observable by difficulty with the driving.

shaft. However, in a case where the Wheels are intentionally movable about different pivots as in the front wheels of an automobile there has never been any means for testing their alinement exceptln'g the awkward expedient of measuring across the car from point to point, and this has been a matter of much diihculty owin'g to the obstruction caused by the car, body that it has been seldom attended to by repairers and garage men, the naked eye being trusted to secure a reasonable amount of alinement. However, a small difference of alinement has a very serious eifect upon the tire mileage, particularly, in the case of large trucks in which solid tires' are used and in which abrasion caused by a misalinement of the front wheels will frequent-ly reduce the tire mileage from fty to seventy-five per cent. or even more from what it normally should be.`

' The object of this invention isI the provision of a simple, reliable, economical and 'easily operated appliance whereby the front wheels of an automobile (or other independently'- pivoted Wheels) may be brought into alinement with each other.

Grenerally speaking my invention may be -delined as consisting of the combinations and constructions recited in the claims hereto annexed and illustrated, 1n one embodilpecication of Letters Patent. -pplieatiou ledpctober 21, 1914. Beniel No. $67,711.

' Describing the parts TED sTATEs PATENT onirica.

CHARLES c. DEDREUX, oF-QLEVELAND, omo.

Patented May 11, 1915.

ment, in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application, where- Figure l isa perspective view of the foryward part of an automobile illustrating the mode of use of my appliance; Fig. 2 is a .top plan view of my improved gageshowing the same in operativerelation with the vehicle wheels; Fig. 3 is an enlarged crosssectional view corresponding substantially to the line 3-3 of Figs'. 2 and 4 but showing a slightly modified construction; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal, sectional view through the adjustment parts.

by reference characters 1-1 represents the front wheels of an automobile, the same being pivoted for delection about vertical axes' at opposite ends of the front axle 2 as is common in present day constructions. The spindles or stubaxles upon which these wheels are pivoted are provided with projecting arms 3-3 to which are connected the links 4 4 pivoted tothe end of the lsteering arm 5 as shown in Flg. 2. For the purpose of adjusting the angle of the wheels relatively to the vehicle for steering purposes suitable devices 6-6 are employed `in connection withthese rods and arms, as will be Well understood to those skilled in the art. Of course the yparticular arrangement of members is unim-y portant to the present invention.

My improved gage comprisesa pair of spaced horizontal arms 10-10 having their inner faces straight and held accurately parallel to each other in all positions ofl .adJustme'ntl These arms are connected to bases 11-11 perpendicular to said arms, arranged for relative longitudinal movement to accommodate cars of different width, suitable provision being made for f keeping them always in alinement with each other. In the present embodiment one of the bases is provided with side pieces 12--12 defining a channel in which the other base member slides, suitable cross members 13-13 being employed to maintain them adjacent each other and to produce the amount of 1405.

friction necessary to maintain the parts in adjusted position. I

The length of the arms is made atleast as great as the diameter of the wheels so as to enable measurements to the rim or tire to be made at both sides of the hub.

The inner edges of the arms 10-10 are preferably notched as shown at 15 so as to avoid coming into engagement with the` place as shown at 17 so as to permit their.

being folded as shown in Fig. 4 and fastened Witli hooks 18 which engage suitable eyes 20. n f

In use the device is presented to the forward Wheels of an automobile as illustrated in Iig. 1., being supported either upon the legs ,16 or other suitable foundation with the base 11 engaging the tires of both Wheels. The arms 10-10 being at all times perpendicular to said base and parallel to each other it is obvious that the wheels can easily be brought to the same plane. This is done by setting the steering wheel to its central position and afterward increasing or decreasing the length of the links 1r-4 by means of the adjustments alwaysl provided therewith until measurements from these arms show that the Wheels are in exact parallelism. In fact for most cases it is sufficient merely to apply the device in the manner described and note whether the arms make contact with both tires at both sides of the hub when lthe steering wheel is in neutral position, thus insuring that when the machine is run directly ahead the Wheels I do not confine myself to the particularl arrangements and constructions herein illustrated except as the same are recited in the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A gage for truing up vehicle wheels comprising a pair of spaced parallel arms adapted to engage the faces of opposite wheels of the vehicle, the length of the arms being greater than the diameter of said Wheels, a common base for sai/d arms, said armsbeing arranged for adjustment toward porting said arms in a horizontal position substantially midway of the height of the Wheels.

2. A gage for truingup vehicleV wheels comprising a pair of spaced parallel arms adapted to engage the face of opposite wheels of the vehicle, .the lengthof the arms being greater than the diameter of said Wheels,l and the inner edges of said arms being notched, and a common base for said arms, said arms being arranged for adjustment toward and from eachother.

3. A gage for. truing up vehicle Wheels wheels of the vehicle, the length of the arms being greater than the diameter of the Wheels, a common base r for said arms, said arms being arranged for adjustment toward .and from each other, and means for supand from each other, and legs attached to said arms and base and adapted to support the Asame horizontally.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. C. DEDREUX.

`Witnessesz BRENNAN B. WEST, HAROLD S. SMITH.' 

